


Take My Hand

by caibi



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Childhood Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, I guess???, Identity Reveal, ehhh anyway..., i don't know if i like calling them lovers if they are sweet innocent youths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-04-30 18:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5175518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caibi/pseuds/caibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They had grown up side by side. Was it really just a coincidence that that's where they'd always end up?</p><p>In which Marinette and Adrien are long-time friends, and maybe they aren't so blinded by their masks after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every fandom seems to have a coffee shop au, a rockstar au, a mythical beings au, and a childhood friends au. i'm here to provide at least one of these things (definitely not all four though - who knows what that disaster would look like...)  
> anyway! i wanted to explore a bit of what an adrienette relationship would look like if they had grown up together, and all the little complications therein

The pillow smacks him in the face with expert precision. He had been jumping about, too, and it was typically quite difficult to catch him off guard. Once he really got going, there was only one person who could read his moves like that.

Marinette takes another swing, and in one fluid motion she manages to knock her opponent to the floor. A torrent of feathers overtakes the room and obscures her vision. In the few seconds it takes to regain her bearings, another pillow has appeared out of no where and hits her square behind the knees. With that, she falls forward onto a heap on blankets.

The next minute is as thick with laughter as any pillow fight could be, and dies only when aching stomachs begs for mercy.

Adrien is the first to pick himself off the floor. "Alright, alright," he heaves. "I think that's about as much as I can take. That last hit kinda hurt, you know? You could have at least picked a pillow with more feathers."

"Seems a bit impossible, seeing as all the pillows were basically empty, anyway," Marinette sucks in a breath as she scanned the floor. "We really should pick all these feathers up..."

Adrien looks around his room, flinching at the mess. "I guess you're right. Nathalie would have a fit if she saw all of this."

Marinette, who is already scooping up handfuls of the stuff and shoving them back into pillowcases, comments "At least they aren't pigeon feathers."

"Not funny! My allergies are _not_ a joke," he admonishes. The bite is taken out of his words by a hearty laugh, one that commends Marinette for her ability to, without fail, successfully tease her best friend.

They had been best friends since Marinette was in pre-school. Her parents had catered several of the Agreste family's social events; parties, fashion shows, and the like. They had provided the cake and baked goods and, because they had no sitter available, had brought their daughter along. The small girl, a bright and spirited child, had insisted on Adrien's company as the only other child present at any of these gatherings. It was confusing to her at first, to see a boy so hidden within his own shell, so quiet and well-behaved and withdrawn. While the adults went off and did what adults do, little Marinette took Adrien by the hand and brought sunshine into his life. She had been persistent in her efforts to pull him from his shell; at first he had been so adverse toward the idea of playing with an unfamiliar girl. But as far as four year olds' stubbornness go, Marinette's was the strongest of many. 

Thus started the friendship of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste, born from baked goods and little tugs of the hand and small, secret smiles.

It's nearly dark by the time the pair finish cleaning (they may have gotten distracted a few times by feather fights, small arguments about the procrastination of homework - Marinette knew _exactly_ where Adrien could shove his physics textbook - and quick quips thrown back and forth in childish banter). Marinette would be staying the night, something her parents didn't really mind. They had been friends too long for it to be a problem of any sort. Nathalie stopped trying to end these sleepovers, much to her dismay. In her opinion, it wasn't really fitting of him to have a girl, of all people, be a frequent visitor. And _overnight_ , no less. 

Adrien always offered Marinette the bed, opting to stay on the floor in her stead. She would always refuse. 

He set blankets out on the floor for the both of them, leaving the bed completely unused. It was routine, in all honesty. At their first sleepover, Marinette had felt odd accepting the bed while she was just a guest in his home. Adrien felt awkward sleeping so comfortably while she was on the hard floor, so they both shared the space at the foot of his bed. After this, it became habitual. He would still always offer up the bed, though.

They sit one behind the other, Adrien cross-legged Marinette directly at his ankles. He's bent over and fumbling with her hair, trying to braid it.

"What do you think's gonna happen with Alya and Nino?" Adrien asks through the hair tie between his teeth.

"Hm?" Marinette responds, keeping her head steady. "Oh, you mean after the other day? I'm not quite sure. I mean Alya's one of my best friends, but she doesn't really talk much about her problems or anything. She'll keep it in if she thinks it'll burden me in some way. Well, either that or she's just too uncomfortable talking about her love life."

_But she just loves talking about mine,_ thinks Marinette. The two girls were extremely close, but when it came to romantic endeavors, Alya's were never discussed. Maybe the young blogger thought her friend to be too helpless, too clueless, and in need of a wingman. But Marinette could deal with her problems herself, because it was a simple puppy-crush that she would get over. Probably.

She was more concerned about Alya's feelings toward Nino, but she knew that her friend was not very open to discussing it. She tended to hide behind the Ladyblog and tried to live vicariously through Marinette.

"Yeah. I mean Nino was pretty torn up about it. He called me that night, bummed about being rejected," Adrien furrows his brows further. "And all _because of a blog?"_

Marinette lets out a sigh, almost shaking her head in dismay until she remembered that she should never move her head while Adrien was braiding, because heaven forbid he messes up (she learned this the hard way - he got very fussy over his braiding).

"Thing is," she starts, "Alya doesn't like to deal with her feelings. She buries them behind the blog instead, and I think that she makes that her priority. So when she told Nino that she didn't think of him like that, and that she had to focus on working on the Ladyblog, that was her way of hiding."

Marinette recalls her conversation with Alya clearly; she had pressed her friend for details, mainly to get her to admit that she did, in fact, have feelings for him. Alya gave a few nervous laughs and simply said _"Well, you know how important my work is to me. I just wanted to see it through, you know?"_ and left it at that. As much as she wanted to know, Marinette knew better than to pry.

"Oh," Adrien stalls his hands for a moment. "I didn't think of it like that. Should I tell this to Nino?"

"Uh, I think it'd be best not to. Er, actually, why don't you just tell him that she's...preoccupied? That as much as she might like him, she needs to have one focus at a time."

"That's...not entirely truthful, Marinette. He is my best fr-" Marinette coughs. " _One_ of my best friends, after all." Adrien looked around at Marinette's face, making sure he'd corrected himself properly. She nods, pleased, and lets him continue. "Anyway, I just think I should be up front with him."

"Adrien, do you think you can make everything better with the truth?"

"Uh, is this a trick question?"

"No. What I'm saying is that, well, do you really think that by interfering, you're doing them any favors?" She shrugs her shoulders up and holds them there, tense and troubled. "I don't think we should leave them hanging, but I also don't think they'd benefit at all in a relationship where we have to point out all the simple truths for them. There are some things they have to learn on their own."

Adrien can tell that this analysis is troubling her, and that even though she believes in what she's saying, she'd much rather jump in and help their friends so that they don't have to struggle so much. It's his job to verify what he admittedly knows to be true.

"You're right," he can feel Marinette start to relax her shoulders. "It's just my nature, I guess, to be blunt or to help out the people I love or, well, both. But yeah, I think you're right. We'd be doing them no good by holding their hands and leading them through a relationship."

The room is quiet for a minute. He puts the hair tie in and pats her head, mumbling a quick "Done." 

She turns around to face him, smiling softly. "We'll still give them little hints, just not the entire story, okay?"

Adrien nods. That did make him feel a bit better, knowing that he wouldn't be withholding enormous amounts of information from Nino.

He watches as Marinette scrambles to the mirror, taking in her reflection. He had given her dual braids, mainly because her hair was just a bit too short to do a single one. She turns her head this way and that, then beams back at him. "They look great! As always."

Adrien returns her smile, matching it in brightness and intensity. He may appear more timid and modest to everyone else, but around Marinette, his pride swelled, cat-like. He didn't have to hide his feelings from her.

Well, most of them, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i thought it was necessary to address their friendships with nino and alya just to reaffirm that they are, in fact, very close to them. i love those two to pieces and would hate for them to be forgotten just because i decided to throw a marinette & adrien friendship in there!
> 
> i wrote a lot of this while i was around my roommates and they would absolutely judge me if they knew what i was writing. they probably thought i was typing up my lab report. but now that i haven't actually written the lab report and wrote this instead, i'm not exactly sure when the next chap will be up (school first! sorry). it'll probably be soon tho


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever seen Chat Noir and I in the same room? No? Well, what a coincidence....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote a good portion of this during my astronomy lecture the other day. and it's also about 4 a.m.   
> that's how my life is going right now.

It's around 2 a.m. when they hear it. A shrill shriek rips through the air, shaking the two teens from sleep.

Adrien shoots up and looks about, bright eyes peering around the dark room. He had grown accustomed to seeing perfectly in the absence of light under...different circumstances. But all that he could conclude at this point was that the danger was not immediate, and that the screaming had come from outside, some distance away. It wasn't close, but someone was in danger.

"Wh-what was that," Marinette slurs, prying herself from the clutches of sleep.

"Someone is screaming," Adrien states. He's starting to get nervous as the shrieking continues. He has to do something, has to act, shouldn't just sit here paralyzed. But Marinette was in the room. Something in his gut was tethering him to the room, not allowing him to reveal himself. At the same time, his mind was yelling at him to _get up get up get up_...and he thinks he could. He can. If it means saving someone, then maybe he should just-

"I have to use the bathroom," Marinette says suddenly, stiffly. She scrambles out of her bundle of blankets and from the room.

Adrien lets out the breath that he had evidently been holding. "Plagg!" he calls, and in the next instant the little black kwami was zipping out from under the bed and in front of Adrien's face. 

"Gee, Adrien, took you long enough," Plagg comments.

"Yeah, well, Marinette is here. You know I can't transform around people."

Plagg waved a tiny paw dismissively. "You could have just excused yourself, like a smart Parisian hero would, but eh, whatever. Too late for that now." And with that, he shoots toward Adrien and begins the transformation.

"I hope she'll just think I'm down in the kitchen or something," Chat Noir speculates from the windowsill just before lunging through into the night. 

* * *

Marinette slams the bathroom door behind her, whirling around and pressing herself against the counter.

"Tikki!" she squeaks. 

The kwami peeks out of her breast pocket and blinks at her sleepily. "Marinette? Is there...is there something wrong?"

"Oh, Tikki," Marinette looked down at her little friend, wishing with all her heart that she could just let the poor thing sleep. "Yeah. There was screaming coming from outside, and I had to rush to the bathroom to transform so - I'd hate to rush you but, I really think someone needs help?"

Tikki rubs her eyes and pats her little cheeks roughly, as if slapping herself awake. "Alright. I'm good. Don't worry about me, Marinette. As Ladybug, this is your job. I shouldn't be a hindrance but rather your ultimate resource."

Marinette nods as she starts the transformation.

* * *

Minutes later, Chat Noir is on the roof of an apartment building, staring at a rowdy crowd below. He's starting to get concerned; whenever danger starts brewing, his Ladybug was never too far behind. Usually, she's even here before him. She's always been quicker to respond.

But she's nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, my Lady, you won't let me do this on my own, would you?" he says aloud.

"Of course not, silly kitty!" Chat hears as a figure breezes past him, swinging from the edge of a building. Ladybug lands on her feet right next to him, contemplating the group of people below.

"Been here long?"

"No, my Lady, I just got here."

She nods and bends down, resting a forearm upon a bent knee. Ladybug squints at the crowd below, crammed into an alleyway and pressed against a wall.

"That person-" she starts, only to be interrupted by a high-pitched scream. She immediately covers her ears and turns back to her partner. As the sound dies, she whispers, "Is that person an akuma?" She trusts his sight more, especially in this dense darkness.

"I don't think it matters right now, my Lady. If someone is in trouble, we should get down there immediately."

Ladybug nods, and swings down to the ground, Chat just behind.

It was an akuma. A stout man who had, hours before, tried to make a romantic dinner for a date. His turkey had burnt to a crisp and the casserole had collapsed onto the base of the oven. In his fit of frustration, he had been turned into an akuma right as his date had arrived. Evidently, he could create endless numbers of baked goods and other foods. He'd chased her out with a parade of sentient cooked chickens, then left his home to rampage around the town. His latest victims were now cornered in an alley by a hoard of baked pies.

Ladybug reaches the ground right as a cherry pie hits a woman in the face.

"Ah, if it isn't Ladybug!" exclaims the villain. "Perhaps you'd like to try some pastries?" He cackles as he launches a strawberry rhubarb at her. She jumps at the last minute to avoid the hit. Chat, the next target, narrowly avoids a banana cream.

"This may just be the most _fruitful_ villain we've faced yet, my Lady," he jokes. 

Ladybug rolls her eyes as she jumps away from a blueberry pie. "Chat, just get these people out of here!"

"Of course," he responds cheerily. He shepherds the crowd of pie-covered people out of the alley, making sure they get onto the street and round the corner before heading back to the fight. 

Cursed with bad luck, he doesn't realize that a pastry was heading his way until his face is full of apple filling. 

The villain cackled, momentarily leaving Ladybug unoccupied while he dives for Chat. Blinded by pie, he couldn't see the akuma barreling toward him.

"Chat!" Ladybug calls as her partner is knocked backward and onto the street. 

The villain returns to Ladybug just after putting up a huge barricade of french fries between them and Chat Noir. 

It took only a few moments for Chat to break through with Cataclysm. "I would've eaten that, but they were extremely stale!" he exclaims.

The akuma turns around, furious. "What do you mean, stale?" he demands.

"I'm saying, maybe you should take a few cooking lessons," Chat teases, dodging a carrot thrown at his face.

Ladybug, in the meanwhile, activates Lucky Charm. She is rewarded with a can of whipped cream. She's thoroughly confused for a moment, until she notices her partner faced with a barrage of vegetables. He catches Ladybug's eyes, and she nods to him. "I hate brussels sprouts!" Chat says, understanding her intentions and jumping back and forth. 

She launches her yo-yo at a loose flagpole ahead and swings above the villain's head. She lands, suddenly, right in front of him. At that instant, she sprays the canned whipped cream in his eyes, blinding him. She ducks as Chat pushes him to the ground. 

Ladybug takes a hold of his spatula and breaks it, releasing the little butterfly inside. After purifying it and cleansing the damage, she starts walking after Chat at the end of the alley.

"You should stay here, kitty, you'd fit right in," she says in a lighter tone. "A real alley cat." She steps closer to him, and plucks a bit of apple from his hair.

Chat laughs, swiping some pie crust from his cheek. "You say that, my Lady, but you should know that I'm no stray. I've got quite a fine scratching post of my own."

"I'm sure you do," Ladybug giggles along. "You'd better go. Your transformation's almost up." She points to his ring with only a single paw print left.

"Ah, you're right. Until next time, then?"

"Until next time," she nods.

He waves at her, and sprints off into the night.

* * *

It takes him a good minute or two, but Adrien finally gets all of the pie out of his face, and most of it from his hair. Thinking it best to act as if he was returning from a particularly long raid of the pantry, he enters through the front door in his civilian clothes. He actually does stop at the pantry, too, for good measure. He supplies Plagg with a bit of Camembert and brings a box of cookies up with him.

He enters his room only to find it empty. "Marinette?" he calls. 

No answer.

Adrien makes his way to the bathroom and calls her name again. "Marinette? You there?" He knocks on the door. "Mari?" He thinks the risk to be too great to push the door open and see if she's really in there (it wouldn't be the first time she's fallen asleep on the toilet), so he returns to his room. He gets his phone and starts to dial Marinette's number, just in case she thought he wasn't coming back and decided to go home instead.

Right as he's about to press the call button, he hears a voice call "Adrien? What are you still doing awake?"

"Marinette! I left to get a snack, but came back and you were gone."

"Oh! I was in the bathroom," she jerks her thumb at the bathroom down the hall.

"But I just checked there, and you didn't answer."

"O-Oh...I was...in the one downstairs!" she backtracked.

"Oh. Alright," Adrien said, confused. He knew he shouldn't be suspicious, that there were logical explanations to her sudden hesitation, to the fact that he'd been gone for nearly an hour and that she'd been in the bathroom the entire time, that she was suddenly so anxious to crawl into bed without a word. But he couldn't help it.

He decided to keep his mouth shut except for "I brought cookies up from the pantry if you want."

"Oh," she turned over to him from her newly reformed blanket cocoon, reaching out to the proffered box. "Thanks."

She takes a chocolate chip cookie and brings it under the blanket, turning from her best friend once again after a small smile.

Adrien noticed that the cookie went uneaten.

And if Marinette was a bit less frazzled, she might have noticed that Adrien smelled a bit like apples. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahahaaa...yep. in case you missed it, tikki ate the cookie that marinette hid under the covers.  
> suspicions are rising! how will this end? B)  
> quick note: for a variety of reasons, i have to share my laptop with my suitemate. hopefully this won't affect the rate at which updates are released, but we'll see how that goes  
> as always, you can come say hi on tumblr!! my url is caibii  
> thank you guys!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suspicions rise, but just how much can one cat piece together on his own?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is relatively short. the day was long and my roommate still has my laptop.  
> sorry that the first couple chapters were lackluster as far as shippy moments, but things should pick up after this

Adrien is curious, as cats tend to be.

He isn't quite sure what's tugging at his mind, but he can't shake off the restless feeling.

Usually it's Marinette who helps him to deduce the source worry, but he couldn't ask her about it. Not this time. He could tell that it's something about her that had gotten him all wound up.

It's her presence, the air she gives off, her little quirks and motions and smiles. Things he always found comfort in now felt foreign, and it settled strangely in the pit of his stomach.

And it's her newer, more odd behavior; that hesitance the other night, her nervousness, her evident absence. He couldn't help but feel that she's hiding something. Thoughts reeling through his head the previous night, Adrien had tried to sleep his suspicions off.

To no avail.

He comes to class sluggish, dragging his feet and with large bags under his eyes.

Marinette is hunched over at her desk, whispering to Alya. She stops when Adrien walks in to shoot him a quick smile. He returns it, albeit not as brightly, and feels a dull stab of pain pass through his body. _How can she smile so easily if she knows she's keeping something from me?_

He watches as Alya bumps her in the side with an elbow, and sees a small blush bloom on Marinette's cheeks. She whispers something to her friend, and the conversation restarts.

Adrien knows that she and Alya have their own sort of dialect; little nudges and glances have a world of meaning between the two girls. He couldn't help but wonder if that elbow jab had any great significance, if Marinette's sputtering reaction had meaning relevant to the secret he believed her to be withholding.

He sits down, the space adjacent empty. Nino had called the night before, breaking Adrien from his contemplation, worry, and altogether string of bad thoughts. Nino had pitched himself into a stammering frenzy, claiming that he had put off his homework all weekend in favor of a pity party and self-loathing on behalf of his crushed feelings. This mainly entailed putting together eight new music playlists and playing video games through the night. Although he called Adrien periodically to rant about his feelings, he could only be satiated with mind-numbing.

The night before, he had been yelling about his physics paper and history lab, _"Or no, wait, it's the other way around, isn't it?"_ he had said sheepishly.

Adrien thinks he pulled an all-nighter, in which case he should be showing up in - he checks his watch - fifteen minutes. 

Nino has done this several times, actually. He had a bad habit of getting too caught up in his mixtapes and audio files, putting off homework then doing it Sunday night into Monday morning. Adrien has become quite adept at figuring out his arrival times.

Ten minutes into the class, Nino bolts into the room ( _right on the dot_ , thinks Adrien). He rushes to place his homework on the teachers desk, then slumps into his own seat and lets out a huff. 

"You're late, Nino," the teacher reprimands. "That's ten points off."

"Sorry," he says, biting back a yawn. "Better than a zero," he whispers to Adrien, smirking lazily.

Adrien shakes his head, and catches the yawn that Nino finally lets out.

* * *

"You guys look horrible," Marinette states, looking down upon her two friends. They're on their lunch break, collapsed on a bench and leaning back as far as they can go.

"You try staying up all night doing two reports," Nino grumbles.

"Yeah, okay Nino," She crosses her arms. "What's your excuse, then?" she turns to Adrien.

He winces a bit, still feeling uneasy around her. He knows he shouldn't, that they're still best friends and nothing could change that. He blinks his eyes open. "Couldn't sleep," he shrugs.

"Why?" he could see worry lining her face.

"No reason in particular," Adrien lies. He gives Nino a side-glance, and in an attempt to change the subject, asks "Where's Alya?"

He felt his friend go stiff beside him.

"She's off somewhere, interviewing some person or another for the Ladyblog," Marinette takes a moment to look at Nino, too, making sure that he won't spontaneously combust at the mention of Alya.

She plops down next to Adrien once she's ensured that Nino wasn't in any imminent distress. She figured it'd be best to leave the subject alone; he wouldn't want to reopen any wounds.

Marinette leans her head on Adrien's shoulder and, unwilling to let the previous subject drop, asks "You sure you're okay?"

"Just peachy, Mari," he says, resting his head atop hers. This is familiar. This is safe. This is the Marinette he knows, the one who reminds him of home. 

For a moment, he can forget his suspicion and let himself rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> +bonus cuddles at the end bc cuddles are the best and i wish i had more of them  
> next update will start to pick up the pace i promise!!  
> also, i have one last midterm on tuesday and that's it as far as important school obligations go, so i'm opening fic requests on my tumblr (caibii). message me or send me one of those fancy new IMs, i'd love to hear from you all!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing is fun and everyone is sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun story: i had to rewrite basically this entire chapter because i accidentally deleted it  
> another fun story: this is the most emotionally tolling chapter  
> also: added a tag (aaaangst)  
> haha. have fun reading. whoops

Wednesday marked the day when everything started to go wrong.

It all started with Nino and Alya's confrontation during lunch. He had begun the stages of grief, and had landed himself in a pit of anger and frustration. He had approached her and demanded a proper answer; he didn't quite believe that her true reason for rejection was her obligation to the Ladyblog, and if she truly wasn't interested, she should have told him simply instead of coming up with an excuse.

"Do you really, truly not like me? Not at all?" Nino had pleaded, winding down from his anger minutely enough to reach a state of anguish. This was something he had felt building in his chest since the previous Friday, and it hurt just as much to release it as it did to keep it in.

"I...I don't-" Alya stammered. She felt trapped. She hadn't even come to terms with her own feelings - how was she going to express them to a person demanding their culmination?

"What? Just say it," Nino's frustration was building again, this time mingling with sadness.

"I-I can't. Nino. I can't."

"What do you mean?" he pressed.

Alya had looked him in the eye and made her final statement: "I can't."

 

That night saw a late phone call between Nino and Adrien, spanning from sundown until an hour which can be counted on one hand.

It saw stuttered, rushed trains of thought and couplets of raw emotion. It saw hushed questions and scratchy-voiced statements. It saw reassurances and dismissals, confusion and denial, all wrongs and not a single right.

It saw long, punctuated silences.

 

That night saw a bland, glaringly normal text that really wasn't normal at all.

It saw Marinette, hunched over her phone and worried, a lackluster message staring back at her from the depths of good grammar and lacking the plethora of exclamation points that it would usually hold.

It saw the words: _I can't talk tonight. I am working on the blog._

 

Thursday was worse for wear.

Blank faces and dark circles characterized the allotment.

Nino was missing. Sick, Adrien had told the teacher. The model was pale and slow to react. If an akuma were to appear, he doubted he could do anything.

Alya was tapping on her phone screen, a vacant look in her eyes. Marinette looked over, and saw that the device was off. The tapping, it seemed, was an empty, compulsory action. Marinette was itching to talk to her friend, to reassure her, to help her. But she knew that she wouldn't get a genuine answer out of Alya. She knew that she wouldn't be allowed to comfort her in so obvious a manner. 

So instead she placed a box of cookies in Alya's locker: a subltly-not-so-subtle way of comforting her.

 

The afternoon. Explosive.

 "Adrien! Wait up!" Marinette raced to catch up with her friend. He was already halfway down the steps, itching to get back home and sleep the rest of the day away. He stopped anyway, waiting for her. He always had.

"Hey, Mari," he said tiredly, allowing her to take his arm in hers. They walked in step with one another, slowly and aimlessly.

Marinette looked over to Adrien, eyes full of concern and lines defining her brow's deep furrow. "You don't look so good. Do you need me to get you anything?"

"No, no, I'm...okay," he told her, running his free hand down his face. "I was up late. Very late. Talking to Nino...." he trailed off.

"Is he -?"

"Let's sit over there," Adrien interrupted, nodding his head to a bench. It was close to the school but secluded enough that no one would be able to eavesdrop.

Marinette hummed in quiet agreement, knowing the implications of the gesture.

"So," she tried again, once they were sitting on the bench, Marinette sitting sideways to face her friend and gripping his hand in two of hers. With the distant looks he'd been giving, she figured he'd need a gentle tether to reality. "How is Nino doing?"

"Do you really even need to ask?" he said with a heavy sigh.

Marinette, noticing the frustration and fatigue rolling through his words, tightened her hold on his hand.

Adrien blew air in a breathy, joyless laugh. Tired as he was, he appreciated his best friend's worry. "I thought Alya would have told you."

"You know her. She won't tell me. She can't express her feelings, thinking it's just something that'll pass."

Adrien nodded grimly, understanding their friend's habits all too well. He briefly explained the events of the day before: Nino and Alya's argument, the phone call, everything.

"I just - I wish we could do something, you know?" he concluded.

"I know," Marinette whispered, mouth dry. She forgot, momentarily, how to form a coherent statement.

"Why didn't we?" Adrien looked up, guilt crossing his features. "Why didn't we do anything? We could have."

"We...we decided not to," Marinette stated. "We thought - _I_ thought it would be best to let them sort it out themselves."

"We should just tell them now," he reasoned. "It'd be best really, and everything would be fixed."

"Adrien, we can't just tell them everything now and expect them to take it at face value."

"Why not?" he looked out to the street, features scrunching together in thought.

Marinette heaved a sigh, readjusting her grip on her friend's hand. She had felt it start to draw back toward his body. "Because," she started, running a thumb over his knuckles. "Because, I screwed up. I misjudged. I thought it'd be best to see them figure things out on their own, but that clearly did not work. And now, it'll take a whole lot more than the simple truth to fix everything."

"We could just tell them that they love each other. It'll get their attention. And they need to know."

"No!" Marinette exclaimed. "We - We can't just -!"

"Can't just what, Marinette?" Adrien turned to her, the irritation, the tiredness, creeping up behind his neck and into his head, drawing out a muted form of anger that he knew he shouldn't hold, but it was there anyway. "Can't just tell them the truth? Because we both know it's true that they love each other. And you were the one who said you were mistaken in keeping these things from them."

"Yeah, but not this," Marinette said rigidly. "This is too personal. We can't just _tell them_ that they _love_ each other. That's the kind of thing that absolutely must not be thrown around by people who have no business throwing it around. We are not responsible for telling Nino that Alya loves him. It's an incredibly personal thing that -"

"No," Adrien stated. "You were wrong last time. What if I'm right this time? What's so harmful about love?"

"What if you're not right, Adrien?" Marinette said. "We don't need you making the kinds of horrible mistakes I've made for them."

Adrien scoffed, about to refute, only to be cut off by a stern assertion:

"And there's plenty about love that hurts. It can hurt _so much_. Look at the situation we're in." She lowered her voice, just realizing that her tone had been steadily growing louder to match Adrien's. "This is the kind of love that destroys before it repairs. And it _is_ harmful. But if everything works out in the end, it'll be worth it..."

Marinette looked off forlornly.

Adrien knew she was right. She tended to be right quite often. But there's that anger, that weariness pulling at him. That strange voice telling him to assign blame, to nitpick. 

"Oh, well, now you're the authority on how love is supposed to work?" 

Marinette looked taken aback.

"I don't know if I want to be taking advice from someone who doesn't seem to have much heed for others' emotions, or from someone who likes to keep secrets." 

And there it was. He said it. He couldn't take it back now.

Marinette pulled her hands back so that their fingertips were just close enough to be touching, but too apprehensive to regain their hold. She squinted at him. "Secrets? What are you talking about Adrien?"

"There you go, you know exactly what I'm talking about! I'm not sure if you realized how much it hurts to be kept in the dark by your best friend!"

"I'm not - I'm not keeping anything from you!" Marinette asserted. 

"I know you're lying," he accused. "I can see it on your face."

Adrien crossed his arms and saw Marinette's expressions change from surprise, to guilt, to anger in a matter of seconds.

"You know, I don't have to tell you everything. Maybe it's to protect you, maybe it's just something that you wouldn't believe or understand, maybe it's just something I'm not ready to tell anyone. It's not really your place to demand that of me."

"You could have said that in the first place!"

"In what kind of circumstance would that ever have been appropriate? 'Hey Adrien, I have a big secret-thing that I can't tell you because I'm scared of telling anyone and nobody knows about it, not even my mom and dad! Ok nice talking to you now let's get back to that game of cards!' Yeah that's exactly how I imagine that'd play out!" she bit out with such sarcasm that Adrien had barely had time to process all of it.

"You know what? I'm done. I can't deal with this right now. I'm going."

And with that, he left.

Marinette was too shell-shocked to even think to call after him.

 

Friday was still.

Nino was absent once again. Marinette had drawn into herself. Alya had stopped her tapping in favor of complete silence. Adrien retained his dark circles (darker now, if possible) and said nothing all day.

Until Chloé showed up. 

Much like Marinette had the day before, she chased after him once class ended for the day. 

"Those tired eye will most certainly not look good on any magazine ad," she noted.

"Thanks," Adrien said flatly.

"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" Chloé asked. "If you need any tips for a good rest, I have tons."

Adrien turned to her. "Thank you, but I think I'm okay." He was too tired to be exasperated. At this point, he should have been used to it. Ever since they were young, Chloé was more preoccupied with appearances than with anything substantial. That's why he hadn't become very good friends; he couldn't relate. He found more solace in Marinette, a thought that was now too painful to bear.

He was about to leave, when he heard "You know, you'd better be looking decent by Monday. You're the only person in class, besides myself, that actually knows how to keep up appearances. And that's not a pedestal that I can hold up by myself, you know."

Adrien froze as he heard Chloé's shoes click away down the sidewalk. He couldn't help it; her statement, derogatory as it was, was just so Chloé. He appreciated the normalcy of it, but more than that, her appreciated what she was trying to do for him.

She was trying to tell him to get his act together, to be the kind of strong person she knew him to be. She said it the only way she knew how: brazenly and without restraint. But she was worried for him nevertheless.

Adrien thought that maybe, just maybe, he could fix this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in all honesty i don't think a nino-alya rejection would be this bad, because they typically communicate their feelings even when they aren't in agreement. in episode 11, when they were arguing, they clearly knew what they wanted, what they envisioned, and made it known - even though there was a fair bit of arguing in the process.  
> that said, this chapter is based off of my own experiences more than anything else. so yeah, this was pretty personal to me, and i had to write it twice. it ended up being slightly different the second time around, mostly because there's a difference between my state of mind at 5 am and at like midnight. 
> 
> anyway!! next chapter should be a heck of a lot sweeter and softer and more bearable.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien reflects, and Marinette starts to put things together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am soooo sorry for last chapter. this is a bit sweeter, and will hopefully make up for it  
> also!! i'm opening fic requests on my tumblr. my url is [caibii](http://caibii.tumblr.com/)

"Cat got your tongue?"

He's sitting on a roof's edge, staring off to the Parisian skyline. He's curled in on himself, shoulders hunched, chin between his knees. 

Chat Noir hasn't said a single word since Ladybug's arrival.

He could still, however, appreciate her attempt to lighten the heavy mood. Chat looks back at her over his shoulder, seeing her stand there with her arms folded over her torso, feet together and head slightly bent. Ladybug appears to be making her frame smaller. It's as if she's just as unsure, just as uncomfortable, as if something's bugging her just as much. He pulls one corner of his mouth up in a mechanical attempt at a smile.

Ladybug steps over and sits gingerly at his side, her back to the horizon toward which Chat himself is looking. They sit shoulder to shoulder, neither making any attempt to look at the other. They can each tell that something is wrong with the other; it's a side effect of being partners for so long. 

Chat breaks the silence.

"My Lady..." he starts.

Ladybug waits for him to continue. After a solid minute, she thinks maybe she should press him to pick up where he left off, but she prolongs the silence anyway. 

"My Lady," Chat finally repeats. "I messed up."

He sinks his head even lower, folds his hands over the back of his neck and boxes himself in. He lets out a deep breath, sounding anguished. 

Ladybug doesn't pry, lets him open up only when he feels comfortable to. They were supposed to be patrolling that night, but that could all be forgotten for now, just this once.

Adrien hadn't known what to do until then. He could feel his emotions steadily set at boiling point, his mind frothing from the turmoil he felt. He had known it was all going to spill out eventually, and with his best friends either mad at him or caught up in their own feelings, there was only one person in the world he could talk to right now. 

He turns to Ladybug, looking her in the eye. 

"Would you be willing to listen?" he asks tentatively, childlike. 

"Of course, kitty," she says, features softening from the tension of concern. She reaches into his lap and takes his hand, lacing their fingers and offering a light squeeze.

Chat shakes his head, clearing his mind. Letting out a final breath, he begins, "It's something to do with my civilian life. I know you don't want us to reveal our identities, so I'll try to be as vague as possible. Just, please, hear me out."

After Ladybug's affirmative nod, he continues.

"So. It's this girl. _My friend_ ," he adds quickly upon seeing Ladybug's look of skepticism. "She's the best person I know, exempting you of course. Because, you know, you're really amazing and like my best friend. But she's my best friend too, for sure. Or maybe you're both equally as great. I don't know, I haven't worked that out yet." Chat is rambling, trying to properly convey his feelings about his best friends; the one in costume and the one without. He's not quite sure what to say, not accustomed to being this outwardly honest with himself, not relying on others' interpretations, trying to find the right words. 

"Anyway. Yeah. So we got in a fight," he says quietly. "I'm...not exactly thrilled about that. We've never had a huge fight before. We've had small ones, obviously, but this one surely takes the cake. We both got really worked up about something that neither of us should've been involved in." He pauses, looks out toward the skyline.

"Ah, but I don't exactly understand what happened, you see? I was not feeling very well and I suppose I took that out on her. And then she got upset because of something I still don't quite comprehend. I think it might have been something I said, the way I said it. I may have offended her when I said that lo-" he stops himself, either not wanting to divulge too much information or not wanting to relive it.

"But you don't want to hear that," Chat backtracks, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand sheepishly. Ladybug simply smiles back reassuringly, adjusting her grip on his hands. 

Chat takes a moment to think to himself, during which time Ladybug takes to running a thumb along his knuckles.

"So. Basically, I know it's my fault. I did something to make her angry, or even sad, maybe. She's not the kind of person to blow up without reason. She's...she's pretty much always right, and the one time she gets something wrong, _the one time_ , I throw it right back in her face," Chat pulls his hand free to cover his face. It's burning with guilt and grief and raw, self-directed frustration. "And then I had the _audacity_ to call her a liar."

Ladybug had gone to reach out to her partner, to comfort him, but she now stops dead in her motions. Her fingertips hover a few centimeters from his shoulder.

"You called her a liar." Ladybug states. It wasn't a question, but a reiteration. 

"Yes," is Chat's reply from behind a barricade of hands. "And it was baseless too. Well, mostly. It doesn't matter now. I've screwed up."

There was a brief moment of silence, occupied only by shallow breaths and biting wind. 

Chat Noir nestles his face further into his hands.

Ladybug's hands finally come to rest on his shoulders.

"I think..." she starts, but trails off. She needs to choose her words carefully. "I think that you are probably less at fault than you think. You've put the blame on yourself, Chat; do you remember how the rest of that conversation went? It can't have all been one-sided."

Chat peaks out from behind his hands, lifts his head a bit higher. "But I-"

"No," Ladybug interrupts him. "You're far too quick to make a villain of yourself, kitty," she says, raising a hand to his cheek. "Just 'cause you've got bad luck doesn't mean that  everything you do is wrong. You need to be more confident in yourself. Please."

Chat Noir can feel his face burning. His eyes are wide in astonishment, and it takes a few seconds for Ladybug's words to truly sink in.

"My Lady...."

She gives him a warm, if slightly unsure smile and puts her head on his shoulder. She's wrapped up in her own thoughts now, mind reeling. She's started to grasp at something; a once nebulous concept giving way to something more concrete, something tangible.

She takes hold of her partner's hand again, absently.

It takes him a few tries to get her to respond to his calls. "My lady?"

She jolts up. "Hm? Yes?" Ladybug spins her head around. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."

"About what?" 

"Nothing too urgent."

"Oh," Chat says airily. "Well, I was also wondering, do you need to talk? You came here looking worse for wear. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"My dear kitty," Ladybug responds. "You've already done the world for me."

He looks at her confused.

"I think I'm going to skip patrol tonight, Chat. Or what's left of it at least," she states, standing. 

"Are you sure, my Lady?"

She nods, pulling him up next to her. "I think what I need, above all else right now, is space to think."

She notes Chat's dejected demeanor at this.

"That's not to say I don't enjoy your company, silly kitty," she teases, finally back in a better mood. "You've actually helped me more than anyone ever could right now, and I thank you so much for that."

"But I didn't though? You just listened to my problems, and helped me to feel better. Really _I_ should be thanking _you_."

"On the contrary. You've helped tremendously," is her only rebuttal.

"I don't understand, but alright. And really, thank you for listening to a silly cat's ramblings."

"Nonsense. They weren't ramblings at all. Have more faith in yourself."

With a quick, unexpected hug, Ladybug takes off toward the horizon.

 

She saw it in the tilt of his grin, easy and crooked. 

She saw it in the minute bounce of his step. In the way he would hold his head, steadily upon a craned neck.

She saw it in his temperament, in the way it flipped like a switch.

She saw it in the way he boxed himself in, in the way he would shut out uncomfortable situations.

She saw it in the way he would open himself up, a bit like magic. In the way he would flourish on his own. In the way he settled in and let charisma run its course. 

She saw all of this in Chat Noir.

But she also saw it, she decided, in her best friend.

She saw it in Adrien.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you've been following updates, i'm sorry for the long break. it was my birthday + i had a midterm + a debate + a lab report  
> break is coming up soon, so things should go a bit more smoothly. i'm only expecting 1 or 2 more chapters


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette has put two and two together. How will this play out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> maybe i should have put more angst into the story to make it interesting, but it hurts my heart too much so have literally all the fluff

When Alya comes into school on Monday, she's hand in hand with Nino.

Having had no communication with her friend over the weekend, Marinette is clearly confused.

The questions are written on her face as Alya takes her seat next to her, laughing shyly. "So, uh, you must be surprised?"

Marinette sits still for about five seconds before she jumps a good foot in the air and grabs Alya's shoulders. "Of course I'm surpr- wh-what happened? Alya! You need to tell me these- I mean! Oh my god Alya what???"

She hasn't quite figured out what she wants to say, a flurry of emotions sweeping over her at once. Astonishment, happiness, relief, and maybe the last remnants of guilt.

Alya blushes a fierce red and explains, "Well, Nino - see, he called me on Friday night. A few times. Actually, more like thirteen. And of course I didn't pick up, because we all know what went down during that week, right? So yeah, I ignored him, until finally he came over to my house. And there I was, sitting there at ten p.m. thinking that he couldn't get any creepier...but turned out he just wanted to apologize?"

Marinette scrunches her brow, giving her friend her full attention and trying to make sense of Alya's feelings during this whole ordeal. The other girl continues:

"So when I answered the door, the first thing I did was yell at him, like 'Don't you know what time it is?' and 'I have family here that's asleep, what's wrong with you?' and all that good stuff. Anyway, long story short, I eventually let him in and we had a good long talk. He came over again the next afternoon with flowers and asked me out and, well, here we are!"

Nino turns in his desk and smirks. "See? I'm not so hopeless after all." He points at Alya and adds, "And I'm _certainly_ not creepy."

"Suuuuuure," she responds with a grin.

"Um," Marinette pipes up after a pause. Alya and Nino both turn to her, concern filling their features at her awkward demeanor. "I just - I wanted to apologize."

Their expressions turned questioning, and Alya asks "For what?"

"For everything. Leaving you guys on your own. Letting that fight go on for so long. It was my fault. I told Adrien to stay out of it, to let you guys figure things out on your own, because we knew you liked each other but I wanted to give you a chance to confess in your own ways and-"

"Marinette!" Alya interrupts her friend's rambling. "Marinette, Marinette, my poor, sweet Marinette. Oh, Marinette no please don't say that. None of it was your fault! It was our own stupid mistakes that caused the whole thing to blow up. Why ever would you think you're to blame?"

"Yeah," Nino agrees. "You know, it's just like you to shoulder all the responsibility. You and Adrien both," he sighs. "You guys just never quit, do you? Ah, well, that ordeal was entirely ours, and you had absolutely nothing to do with it, okay?"

"But-" Marinette tries to say.

"No 'buts,' young lady," Alya scolds. She reaches one hand out to pat her friend on the shoulder, and the other toward Nino. He takes it, and laces their fingers. She nods her head to their linked hands. "Look, see how happy we are now? We figured it all out, just like you thought we would, okay? You were right, and there's no reason to be upset about it anymore. Got it?"

Marinette smiles meekly at the pair of them, both nodding in agreement. She feels a flooding wave of relief and relaxes her shoulders.

But they tense again once Adrien walks in. 

They make eye contact for a split second, but break it almost immediately.

Alya catches this and, letting go of Nino's hand, raises an eyebrow at Marinette. The other girl shakes her head; she'll tell Alya later. Nino has evidently asked Adrien the same thing, but he waves it off and asks about Alya instead. This leads to another discussion of their newly formed relationship, dragging on until class starts.

 

"What happened between you two?" Alya holds Marinette after class that afternoon.

"You mean with Adrien right?" Marinette clarifies.

"Yeah. You guys would barely acknowledge each other. And you both disappeared at lunch. I assume you weren't off together, were you?"

"No. I took a walk. I have no idea where he went," Marinette sighs. "Listen, it's okay. I mean, it kind of was a big deal last week. We got into a fight. That stuff I told you this morning? We had a disagreement over that. And then he accused me of keeping secrets from him. Which, I guess I am? And-"

"Right," Alya interrupts. "The secret that you _like_ like him." She jabs her friend in the ribs as they walk out of the classroom. 

"Ew, don't say it like that. But yes," Marinette says. Although that's not the complete truth. She's been secretive about her crush on him, yes, but there's something bigger that she hadn't been able to tell him before. But now she knows something, has been able to piece together strips of identity and bits of emotion. Now she's building confidence, driven by the conglomeration of facts and feelings, wanting to reveal herself but not knowing how. She spent the weekend avoiding phone calls (mainly Adrien's) and making plans, trying to sort out her mental state and plot a course of action. In the end, however, she couldn't think of anything.

She admits this part to Alya: "I had actually been planning to confess. Some time soon. I just - I don't know how."

"OOOOOOOOOOH!" she exclaims. "That's my girl! I'm proud of you, Marinette." She puts a finger to her mouth contemplatively. "Hmmm. How should you confess? A candle lit dinner is always nice, I could help arrange that. Or a night out at a movie followed by your confession would be super cute. Oh! Or how about -"

"Alya!" Marinette cuts her friend off with light laughter and a sheepish look on her face. "I think I'll just wing it. I've...gotten surprisingly good at coming up with plans on the fly," she thinks back to all her _Lucky Charm_ moments in the last few weeks, a wide, oddly cat-like grin on her face. 

"If you say so, kiddo. I've got your back, no matter what," Alya says.

Before they part, Marinette makes sure to give her friend a huge hug and say "I'm happy for you and Nino. You guys are great together."

"Thank you," Alya beams. "And good luck with you-know-who."

* * *

That night, Ladybug shows up to patrol a bit late. 

"Hello, my Lady," Chat Noir says when she shows up. She's got a small backpack slung over her shoulder and a nervous look about her.

"Hey Chat," she says, a bit shakily.

"My Lady?" he steps over to her. "It's not like you to be this stiff. Are you alright? Did you fix whatever was going on with you last time we met?"

"Uh, not yet. I'll get to it. But first..." Ladybug reaches behind her for the backpack, slinging it at Chat. "Here. For you."

"What's this?" he says, unzipping it and rummaging through. He pulls out a wrist watch. "Oh! Hey this is - I know this wrist watch. I - I lost it somewhere. Where did you - ?"

"What else is in there, Chat?" Ladybug interrupts with a small, but commanding voice.

He furrows his brow but obeys, pulling out a stuffed animal this time. It was a small teddy bear, a tag around its neck reading " _Happy birthday! From Adrien_." 

He goes to ask Ladybug another question, but she shakes her head at him to continue emptying the bag.

Chat reaches in a third time and is rewarded with a small bag of baked goods. "These are from Mari- from my friend's parents' bakery," he says in wonder.

There are a few more trinkets in the bag: a worn out ball that had been tossed between two small friends, an autograph from a famous fashion designer that only a very successful model could have procured, a sketch of a bowler hat decked in feathers.

The last thing that Chat Noir pulls out of the bag is a post card. He flips it to read " _Dear Marinette. Venice is a lot of fun, and you'd love all of the street fashion here! Just wish you could see it with me. Yours, Adrien._ " He plucks the photo that was attached with a paper clip. "It's a photo of -"

He stops. There, smiling back at him from a Venetian canal, is Adrien Agreste.

"Ladybug I- What is all this?"

"These, my dear cat," she steps closer, strangely lacking all the nervousness that was there before. She takes the postcard from him and examines it. "These are our memories."

" _Our_ memories?" he says, dumbfounded. "I'm sorry, I still don't -"

"You still don't get it, silly cat?" Ladybug's fond smile betrays her exasperated tone. "Maybe this will make it a bit clearer."

And with that, she takes his face in her hands, pressing a kiss to his lips. It's delicate at first. Clumsy, even. He's caught off guard, and she's still full of nervous energy, even if she's not shaking anymore. It's quiet; a brief exchange, a subtle explanation, a stuttered understanding. As he presses back, it's a secret coming to light, a small apology, an equally measured acceptance. There's a smile, a giggle bubbling out, and then it's red faces and doubling over and tears in eyes. 

Somewhere in there, Tikki had released her transformation. And there stood Chat Noir, Parisian hero and master of bad luck, kissing Marinette Dupain-Cheng, baker's daughter and asipiring fashion designer. 

And somewhere there, Plagg had understood what was going on and released his as well. And there stood Adrien Agreste, misunderstood son and part-time model, kissing his best friend.

The pair had sprung apart in a fit of laughter, now sprawled about the rooftop in separate states of hysterics. 

Once they had calmed down, Adrien addresses his partner. "So, you're Ladybug, huh?"

"Yes," says Marinette, already wound down and waiting for his response. Would he be upset, uncomfortable? Would her worst expectations really be realized?

"Can't say I expected that," he states. "Although, I probably should have noticed sooner. You'd think I would have known you well enough by now..."

She laughs in response. "Yeah, well, I only just found out after our heart-to-heart last week. When I realized Chat Noir was talking about me, about Marinette, there's only one person that could be him. And, well, I really just hoped I was right."

"So that was your secret, then?"

Marinette chuckles. "Yes, silly kitty. You were mad at something that you yourself were doing - keeping another identity and all that. Hypocrite," she teases, sticking out her tongue.

Adrien blushes, and quickly apologizes. "I was a real jerk to you, you know? You have all the right to still be mad at me, to leave me be, but yet here you are, kissing me..." his cheeks become even redder at that, and looks at the ground.

She walks over to him again, taking his hand in hers. "What in the world are you talking about? I'm not leaving you. I'm staying right here." 

"Well, alright then," Adrien raises their joined hands to his lips, kissing the back of hers. 

Marinette raises her free hand and pokes him in the nose, a little joke, a little secret shared between the two of them.

"I'll follow you anywhere, my Lady."

"Just take my hand, silly kitty, and I'll lead the way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! Thank you for following this story. It really means a lot to me, and I had so much fun writing it!!  
> If you want to chat (haha) about this story, or about fics ideas, about miraculous ladybug, or about life in general, come say hi on tumblr!! my url is [caibii](http://caibii.tumblr.com/)


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